From the Slums
by AriAkane
Summary: In a life of experiments and testing, two failed experiments find salvation in a Department of the company that made them what they were, The Department of Administrative Research, otherwise know as the Turks. Mid Time Skip in Crisis Core. Rated M for later chapters. Reno Sinclair/ OC. Tseng/ OC. Reviews are always welcome.
1. Welcome Home, Here's Your Mission

Chapter 1

The harsh sun beat down on my body as I stood waiting for someone to come and pick me up. I shifted my weight onto my left leg as I looked down at my watch. Quarter past eleven. I sighed as I fanned myself, trying to do something about the blistering heat. Very faintly, I could hear the choppy drone of a helicopter and as I raised my stare to the skies, I could see a small black dot making its way to me. I smiled, grateful that my boss hadn't forgotten about me. I watched as the helicopter flew moderately well, until it shook left for a bit, then right, before taking a sudden nosedive. It straightened out just in time and I let out a sigh of relief then shook my head while smiling. That flying was an obvious indicator that Rude was flying. As the chopper came closer, the wind began to whip up. I closed my eyes as welcomed the sudden gale on my heated skin.

"Yo, are you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna hop in? We do have work to get back to ya know" I heard a nasally voice say and I opened my eyes to see Reno with his head stuck out the side door of the chopper. I laughed and shook my head when he began to sputter as his long red hair had whipped its way into his mouth.

"I'm coming" I said as I laughed and made my way to the black chopper, my feet get trapped in the loosely packed sand. I hauled my bag into the chopper and quickly climbed in myself, sitting down of the row of leather bound seats at the rear. I had just adjusted my bag when a big bulky headset was thrown into my lap. I looked up at Reno who grinned at me, a lit cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Those things are gonna kill you" I said as I put my headset on. I heard Reno laugh on the other end.

"If they're gonna kill me then they're gonna kill you too, babe" he stated in a matter of fact voice, adding in the nickname he had given me in turn for me getting to call him _Diablo Rosa._

"Oh well, I'm planning on dying young anyways so" I said as I sat up, reached forward and plucked the smoke from his lips. He glared back at me as I took a haul of the smoke, then he smiled and shook his head. I let out a few smoke rings and turned my attention to the landscape passing beneath us.

I had only been in the Turks for a few months now, recruited from the slums of Midgar along with my best friend Eva who was now my partner. My eyes began to flutter closed and I rested my head on the tinted glass window beside me. A few minutes later, I heard a crackling in my headset.

"Damn, she's hot even when she sleeps" I heard Reno say and I smirked.

"I can hear you Diablo" I said and he laughed.

"Maybe I wanted you to hear me, babe" he retorted and I heard a groan from Rude, who was silent throughout our conversation.

"Can this flight not involve you two flirting?" Rude asked and my face went bright red.

"Ya know Rude, you can take the boy out of the flirt but you can't take the flirt out of the boy" Reno said with a seductive smile back at me. I stuck my tongue out at him and closed my eyes again.

"That sounds disgusting…this is gonna be a long ride" I heard Rude say and I silently agreed with him. Slowly I drifted into sleep as Reno and Rude bickered back and forth about Reno's absurd drinking habits, which in my opinion were pretty outrageous. Rude was one hundred percent right, this was gonna be a long trip.

"Hey, get up babe" I heard Reno's voice say, accompanied with a soft stroking on my thigh. I immediately jerked awake, my leg lashing out to catch Reno in the elbow. With a grunt he snatched his elbow away. "Damn, babe. No need to kick"

"Well maybe I wouldn't be kicking if you weren't randomly touching my thighs, Diablo" I said with a pout.

"Well maybe if you weren't wearing such short shorts then I wouldn't want to touch you so much" he said with a wink. I smiled and shook my head. It was true though. Since I was spending my vacation in Costa del Sol, I was barely wearing any clothing at all. A pair of jean cut off short shorts, a black tank top and a pair of high top camouflage sneakers. As I looked down at my attire, I felt a piercing gaze on me and I looked up to see Reno ogling me as well. Our eyes meet for a brief second before he smiled and got out of the helicopter. I smiled too and quickly began to grab my luggage. I slowly made my way out of the chopper and set my hefty bag down to brush my hair out of my face.

"Ari!" I heard a female shout and looked up to see Eva running full speed at me with her arms wide open. With a leap, she latched herself on to me and knocked us both on to our asses. "I was so alone! Don't leave me for extended periods with that red pervert again!" she cried out exaggeratedly as she sat back on her knees. I laughed as I looked at Reno who held his hands up in a mock defense.

"I didn't do shit, yo" he said and rolled my eyes.

"Extended period, Eva?" I asked as I looked at her, her ice blue eyes shimmering with happiness, "I was hardly gone for two weeks" I said and Eva flipped her long tawny hair behind her shoulder.

"Any time spent with Reno feels like an eternity," she said with a huff, "besides you're my partner, there is no one else who id rather spend time with" she grinned.

"Yeah, except for Tseng" I mumbled which got me a firm punch in the shoulder. I grinned at Eva who had a very defiant pout on her lips. That pout soon went away as I punched her shoulder back. Our relationship was one that was founded on the shared acts of violence that we both had. We both laughed as Eva stood up and hauled me to my feet as well, and with her being a very adamant and self proclaimed _Mother Chocobo,_ she carried away my luggage bag for me; probably fearing that I would hurt myself. As the four of us walked into the Shinra Electrical Power Company, our boss, Tseng, waited for us at the top of the stairs.

"Welcome back, Ari" he said in his usual deep and monotonous voice. I smiled and nodded.

"Good to be back, Sir" I said and Tseng nodded curtly.

"I have a mission for you four" he said, sending us into a silent astonishment, "head to the Briefing room as soon as you settle in, Ari" and with that, he headed downstairs. I looked at Eva who was blushing madly and I smiled.

"I think I might need some help settling in" I said sarcastically, "that bag is just too heavy for me to carry." Eva smiled as I nudged her with my elbow.

"Can I help to?" asked Reno, getting that mischievous look in his green eyes. Eva and I looked at each other; I could tell by the look in her eyes that she would kill him if he came along.

"Sorry Diablo, no matter how much you look like a woman, it's a true girl's only thing" I joked and Reno put his hand over his heart.

"Ouch babe, No need to be so mean" he whimpered and Eva and I laughed as we headed down to the Living Quarters of the Company building. As we walked, Eva was oddly quiet.

"What's wrong?" I asked and she peered at me from the corner of her eye.

"What's going on between you and Reno?" she asked and my face went red.

"What do you mean? There's nothing going on, I assure you" I said defensively. It was a lie though, for the last few weeks I've began to have feelings for Reno…even if he was a giant, gossiping man whore. I looked down at my feet, I didn't like to lie to Eva but I know she would slap me every way till next Sunday if I told her I liked Reno. She and Reno were like gasoline and fire, two things that should never be around each other unless someone wanted a lot of trouble. Every time that Reno and Eva were around each other, it would almost certainly end with Reno getting a bloody nose or split lip.

"If you like him then I…I'll stop wailing on him" I heard Eva mumble and I looked at her. Did she just revoke all rights to beating up Reno? I laughed out loud.

"That's funny Eva, I swear I just heard you say you would stop wailing on Reno if I liked him" I said through my laughter. Eva stopped dead in her tracks and I turned to look at her.

"I did say that and I wasn't joking" she said sternly. I looked at her dumbfounded and she slowly looked down at her feet. "You're my partner and my best friend, Ari. If you're happy when you're with Reno then I don't want to mess that up by beating him all the time. I have seen you in your darkest hour and ever since you met Reno, I have never seen you unhappy. I may not like the guy but I've realized that you aren't the same, I can see how happy he makes you and I just feel that if I keep slapping him around then he won't want to be around you because I'm around you 24/7." I was honestly shocked into silence by Eva's speech and I put my hands on my hips with a shake of my head.

"Eva, I honestly don't know what to do with you sometimes. I will admit that Reno does have a certain…je ne sais quoi…that makes me smile but I know you don't like him and since we are together 24/7 then how can I expect you to manage keeping you shit together if we start to date?" I asked and Eva looked at me.

"If it means your happiness then I'm willing to risk my whole life. You're my partner but also my best friend…and considering our past together, I just don't want to see you upset any longer." She said with a huff and began to walk down the hallway again. I stared after her in amazement. I had known that she would always consider me her best friend but I didn't know that she would go so far for me. I shrugged and walked after her, happy that she upheld the same loyalty to her best friend as I did.

"Well, you are right…" I said as I caught up with her, "there is a little something going on between me a Reno but it's a one sided thing. He wouldn't date someone like me after all"

"What do you mean by someone like you?" she asked skeptically

"Some sewer rat from the slums" I said and was rewarded with another punch from Eva.

"We have had this discussion before, if you're a sewer rat then I'm one too" she said and cracked her knuckles, a threat to stop me from saying anything else against myself.

"Oh well, still doesn't mean that Reno would date me" I said and quickly ran ahead before my shoulder received another blow from Eva's fist. I quickly punched my code into the keypad on the door knob and darted into my room. Eva followed me and threw my luggage at me as I lounged on my couch.

"Hurry up and change 'cause Tseng wants us in the Briefing room remember?" Eva nagged and I rolled off the couch. First day back and I have a mission. I groaned as I shuffled into my bedroom and opened my closet door. Black suits hung in a row, each of them the same as the other. I picked the first one in the row off the rack and threw it on my bed. I slowly slipped out of my jean shorts, tank top and sneakers and replaced them with my black suit and a pair of black shoes. Giving myself a quick look in the mirror, I hurried out of my apartment and Eva and I walked to the Briefing room together. It was a silent walk considering that Eva had given me the go ahead to date Reno but I felt terrible. Since Eva was my partner and best friend, I wanted her to be happy too but that was a little hard when the guy she likes has an emotional range of a dead stick. I knew Eva wasn't the type to give up so easily but to me, she needed someone with a little more…depth, someone who wasn't an emotionless pillar. Soon the Briefing room came into view and Eva and I sped up our pace to make ourselves not seem like complete slackers. The room was barely lit with a large oak table in the middle of the room. Rude was there but Reno wasn't which was odd since most Turk partners were always at each other's sides.

"There ya are, babe. I was wondering if you would show your pretty face around here" said Reno as he walked into the room. I smiled as I turned around and, yet again, plucked the cigarette from his lips and took a drag off of it.

"Can't really skip out on a briefing now can I?" I said and put the cigarette back in Reno's mouth. The red head grinned and folded his arms across his chest.

"I have" he boasted, puffing his chest out.

"Ya? And what happened when you went for your mission?" I reminded him and it popped his bubble of confidence.

"He got his ass handed to him" said Eva, trying to get a daily jab at Reno in. I raised an eyebrow at her and laughed. Reno let out a snort and sat down beside Rude, who was waiting patiently for the briefing to take place. I sat between Reno and Eva, not wanting bloodshed in front of Tseng and also just wanting to sit beside the feisty red head.

"So babe, are you doing anything after this mission?" Reno asked as he snaked an arm around the back of my chair and draped it over my shoulder. I blushed madly and shook my head.

"I might take a few hours to get back into life here but other than that, nothing" I said and Reno chuckled.

"I can help you get back into life" he said sexually and I nudged his ribs with my elbow. Reno only chuckled more and leaned in really close to my ear. I could feel his hot breath tickle the cusp of my ear as he whispered to me, "ya know, you look so cute when you blush like that, yo." I almost fell off my chair when he said that but I kept my composure and turned my head to look at him in the eyes, a mistake I regretted. There was something about Reno's eyes that just made me want to stare at them. I wasn't really a big fan of the color green but Reno's made me stop everything. We sat there for a few seconds, cerulean staring in emerald, before Reno began to move closer to me. My heart nearly jumped out my throat as I felt Reno's breath over my lips but all too soon, I was jerked backwards into the arms of my partner.

"Oh no you don't!" Eva threatened as she glared daggers at Reno who stared them back at her.

"What the hell, yo?" he finally asked as he flopped back into his chair. Once I knew the red head wasn't looking, I shot a glance at Eva with a pout on my face. My partner wagged her finger at me in hopes of trying to shame me. I rolled my eyes at her before turning to the front of the table where Tseng had secretly appeared.

"I want you for to take a chopper out to the Temple of the Ancients." Tseng ordered and was about to leave but not before getting a cry of dismay from Reno.

"What are we heading out there for, yo? Ain't anything out there except for rubble" he asked as he kicked his feet up onto the table as he reclined in his chair.

"We have reports of an unknown life form out there. Now go take care of it" Tseng explained vaguely and left the room. I looked at Eva who shrugged, her face as red as a tomato and I shrugged as well. Slowly I got up from my seat and headed for the door, Eva followed me and Reno and Rude behind her.

"So…who wants to fly us to the location?" I asked as I shoved my hands in my pockets. Without a word, we all turned to Reno, who was the most capable flyer out of all of us. He held his hands up and shook his head.

"Hell no! I've had my daily share of flying today, thank you very much" he protested. We all let out a sigh of disappointment and Eva and I looked at Rude, who remained silent.

"Looks like you're flying Rude" I said and grinned happily. I heard the older man let out a small groan as we all headed for the chopper.


	2. Brutal Attack With A Monster Onboard

Chapter 2

"It's getting windy around here" Rude's voice said through the crackling in my headset.

"You heard him Ari, now sit your ass down" jabbed Eva who was turned around in the passenger seat as Reno and I were in the back. I was currently standing up to try and get a drink out of the over head compartment where we had stored our water bottles.

"Ya ya, just a second" I said but as I spoke, a ferocious wind attacked the side of the chopper, knocking my off my feet and sending me backwards. I let out a little yelp as I landed in Reno's lap, his slender hands instantly grabbing my sides as another wind dared to send me flying again. I looked up from my cringed position and saw Eva shake her head as she looked back at her Chocobo chick. I smiled as she turned around then felt Reno's hands shuffle against my sides. I turned my head slightly to look at him through my bangs as I blushed. I felt him chuckle.

"You should be more careful, babe" he joked and I laughed.

"Well now I know I can count on you to break my fall, Diablo" I said as I tucked my bangs behind my ear.

"I wish I would have caught you when you fell from Heaven, baby. Maybe then you wouldn't have hurt yourself." He joked and I laughed.

"The only thing I hurt was my knees when I crawled out of Hell." I said causing everyone in the chopper to laugh. As I laughed, I moved to get up off of his lap but his hands instantly tightened, holding onto my hips like iron. I looked over at him as he grinned and pulled my waist closer to his. I could feel my face heat up as I moved to get up again but his hands kept me firmly seated in his lap. I could feel his eyes on me, watching me as I struggled to get out of his grip.

"Come on Reno, let me go" I pleaded, having enough of his cruel teasing.

"I just don't want you to fall again" he smirked and I let out a sigh, giving up my struggle against him. I slowly let my body relax, coming to terms with my imprisonment to Reno's lap.

"Can I ask what the hell is going on back there?" Eva's voice said as it crackled over my headset. I looked at her as her face settled over with a deep scowl, a sign she was not impressed with the fiery redhead that had his hands on her baby Chocobo.

"What? I just didn't want her to fall again" Reno explained, deepening Eva's scowl more.

"She wouldn't fall if she was in one of the seats…" Eva huffed, "across the chopper" she added, expressing her internal intent to rip Reno in half when we landed. I couldn't help but smile at their little tiff, they hated each other but it was funny to watch them fight over my affection. I felt a bit loved.

"Just let her go and I promise I won't tear you a new one when we land." Eva threatened but all that did was make Reno tighten his grip on my waist.

"Since you said it so nicely…no." Reno said defiantly and jerked me back against his chest. I let out a squeak as I landed against Reno, my head falling on his shoulder and my hands instantly grabbing on to his already ruffled suit.

"You are so dead when we get out of here." Eva growled as she turned around in her seat. My heart raced as I still clung to Reno, unsure if he was going to make any more sudden movements. Slowly, I looked up just to see what Reno was going to do but the older man remained silent and looking forward. I was really curious now, Reno was never this quiet or still. As I continued to stare, Reno cast his eyes down at me and we stared at each other for a few minutes. Slowly but surely, Reno leaned down to me, continuing our prolonged session from the Briefing Room. The hot breath over my lips returned and I hesitantly closed my eyes, waiting to feel his lips over mine. Soon enough, I felt Reno's lips close over mine. They were surprisingly soft and warm but our kiss only lived for a small few seconds as we heard Eva's scorning voice in our headsets.

"Reno Sinclair, I'm gonna rip your head off and shove it up your ass when we get out of this chopper!" she yelled and Reno and I broke apart. I instantly glared at her as she glared at Reno who grinned away like nothing was wrong. I quickly got off of Reno's lap before he could protest and sat the furthest I could from him. I huddled myself up so that my knees reached just under my nose. I wrapped my arms around my shins and placed my head on my knees. I stared out the window as we passed over the ocean. All four of us sat in silence, nothing but the beating of the helicopter sounded around us. As I sat alone, I felt something move by my side and I looked up to see Reno. As I gave him a questioning look, he pointed to his headset then held up two fingers. He wanted me to switch over to channel 2. I did what he wanted.

"What do you want Diablo?" I asked and he grinned.

"I just wanted to talk to you alone, babe, without Miss High and Mighty gettin' all riled up." he joked and I laughed a little. I turned my attention back to the window, only to regret it. I felt a sudden warmth around my shoulders and from the corner of my eye I saw Reno's hand. I looked back at him as he grinned and literally pulled me closer to him all while snaking his arm down my back and clasping his fingers around my waist.

"Reno, what are you doing?" I asked as I squirmed away from him again.

"I'm tryna cuddle with my girlfriend" he said and I froze. What did he just say? I looked back at him very slowly, my eyes wide and my face red.

"Your what?" I asked quietly and the older man smiled happily, his face reddening a little.

"I'm not just gonna kiss ya without a good reason, I'm not that kinda guy. I wanna go out with ya" he said and I could feel his fingers nervously tighten around my side. I immediately blushed and looked away.

"Who don't you wanna go out with, Diablo?" I joked but Reno's face remained serious. I laughed nervously and began to fiddle with my fingernails, a bad habit I adopted when I was nervous.

"Well, what do ya say?" Reno finally asked and I balked.

"I don't know…I'm not the type of girl that all the guys fight over" I said and Reno smiled.

"Good, less competition for me" he said and laughed. I smiled, still uneasy about how Eva was gonna react if she found out about this.

"I would have to talk to Eva…" I said and Reno let out a sigh, "what?" I asked.

"Do you need to ask her about everything? She's not your mother ya know" it was my turn to sigh.

"Yeah, I know she's not but she still likes to think that she is." I said and Reno rolled his eyes. I smiled and looked back down at my fingernails which had sustained a few cuts from my constant fiddling. I sucked in a gulp of air as I accidentally touched one of the cuts and it began to bleed. I was about to wipe away the blood but Reno's hands covered mine as he pulled them towards him. He looked at my index finger that had the cut and he smiled up at me. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a light blue bandage that had little yellow ducks on it. I nearly burst out laughing as he wrapped the bandage around my finger. He smiled at me then kissed the bandage, then released my hand. I blushed as I pulled my hand back and ran my thumb over the bandage.

"Thank you" I said and Reno grinned. I looked at him as I bit my lip, "about your question…you wouldn't want someone like me, ok. It…it just wouldn't work." I said with a little smile. Reno looked at me with a saddened expression.

"Whatever, yo." he said sadly and I bit my lip and looked away.

"I'm sorry." I said and Reno nodded.

"Ya, I am too." he said and pulled his arm away from my waist. I looked down at my feet as Reno and I sat in silence again. _Good job, fuck nut,_ I thought to myself, _you scared off another one._

"Where the hell did they-oh hell no!" I heard Eva shout in my headset and I immediately stood up. Reno looked at me then at Eva as she crawled into the back of the chopper and stared at me and Reno. She glared at the red headed Turk and stormed over to him, grabbing him by the pony tail and giving it a firm yank.

"I told you, Sinclair. Stay. Away. From. Her." Said Eva, emphasizing the last four words with yanks on Reno's pony tail and with one last tug; she pulled Reno so hard that his head smashed off the metal door opposite me.

"Ow, yo. Ya don't need to be that rough ya hag." Reno said as he curled into a ball with his hands on the back of his head. Eva held her hands on her waist as she glared down at the curled up ball. She was about to say something but the sound of scrapping metal silenced her. She turned back to me and I stared at her then turned slowly. As I turned, the door behind me was ripped off and my body was forced backwards. A scream was ripped from my throat as my hands flailed for something to grab on to. I could feel my body slide over the edge of the chopper and I dared to look backwards. I could see the sun setting over the ocean as the chopper jerked left and right. _'I'm gonna die…'_ I thought as my body went numb and I stopped moving. All I could do was stare at the sunset, not caring if I died at that moment or not. As my elbow's past over the edge of the chopper I felt an iron grip on my wrist. My head snapped up and I looked into Reno's worried turquoise eyes as he held on to my arm, his fingers clasped around with enough pressure to cause me to bruise. I could feel myself being lifted back into the chopper as Reno hauled me in. As my knees were pulled back into the chopper, I sat motionless for a few seconds before Reno touched my shoulder.

"You ok, yo?" asked Reno into my headset, not giving a shit that Eva was still listening to us. I shook a little as Reno helped me to my feet then I looked at the door. The shredded metal was a clear sign that something had attacked our chopper and the screeching of claws on metal was a clear sign that whatever attacked us was still here. I pulled out my .45 magnum and slowed crept over to the door. There was a brief pause, like everything was waiting in suspense as I halted just a few inches from the door. Suddenly, a creature with large, scaly wings appeared in the door way, its rounded snout opening to reveal several rows of razor sharp fangs. I immediately lifted my gun, aimed for its head and pulled the trigger but the chopper jerked sideways again, throwing Eva, Reno and I off our feet and causing my finger to pull the trigger. Although I missed my intended target, I still managed to graze the creature on the shoulder with my stray bullet.

"God damn it! Where did they come from?" I heard Reno ask and I instinctively knew that there were more creatures on the opposite side of the chopper. One on this side and I assumed that there was two on the other. That made three, one for each of us. I raised my gun again and steadied myself as the chopper jostled to the right. I looked down the barrel of my gun which was aimed in the center of my creatures head. I pulled the trigger again and the creature immediately dropped off the side of the chopper. I sighed and let my guard drop but raised it once I heard the painful yelp in my headset. I whipped around to see Reno down on his back with three large gashes across his stomach. It felt like my heart tightened and I looked up to see which one had hurt him. One of the creatures looked at me and licked Reno's blood off its claws. My last restraint on my anger snapped and I raised my gun in my right hand only. I looked straight at the creature with the bloody claws and pulled the trigger, and pulled it again, and again, and again, and again. I pulled the trigger until I emptied the full magazine that I had put in before we left. I let the empty magazine fall to the floor as I pulled out a full clip and shoved it in the butt of my gun. I walked up to the other creature and gave it the same treatment I gave the other one. With the two creatures gone, the chopper finally leveled out and I was able to stand without my legs being braced.

"Are you guys okay back there?" said Rude as he looked over his shoulder.

"No, Reno's hurt." Said Eva and I snapped back to see Eva crouched down as Reno propped himself up on his elbow while his free hand held his midsection. My gun slipped from my fingers as I went to Reno's side, my heart sinking instantly.

"Damn, yo. This hurts like fuckin' hell." I heard Reno mumble over my headset. I grabbed his hand and moved his arm away from his wound which was issuing a worrisome amount of blood. I looked at Eva as she stood up and got the first aid kit from the overhead compartment. I turned back to Reno who had his head thrown back and clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles were turning whiter than their usual shade of paper white. I looked at Eva and she nodded, knowing that I could handle this wound by myself. As Eva went back up front, I unzipped Reno's jacket and began to un- button his shredded white shirt, which was already dyed red. I cringed as I looked down at the ripped open flesh on Reno's stomach. I could hear the red head suck in air as the cold wind hit the heated and torn flesh of his stomach.

"You don't happen to have any healing magic do ya?" asked Reno and I looked up at him. He obviously could tell by my expression that this wound was going to be a hard task to stitch up. I looked down at his wound again. I felt my heart beat beginning to race and my hands clutched the scraps of Reno's jacket. I couldn't take my eyes off Reno's blood; it was like I was in a trance. Slowly, as if something took over me, I leaned down to Reno's stomach; the smell of copper and iron getting stronger as I closed the gap between my face and his damaged skin.

"Ari, what the hell are you doing?!" asked Reno as he tried to squirm away from me.

"Shut up, Sinclair," said Eva from the front and the older Turk stopped moving, "I've seen her do this before; she's trying to help." And with that, Reno sat still as I ran my tongue over his wounds, his cooling blood seeping into my mouth as I cleaned the torn flesh. Soon, there was a small hissing noise coming from Reno's stomach and I could see his skin beginning to stitch itself back together. I pulled away and licked the blood from my lips, then looked at Reno as he stared at his stomach which was now fully healed.

"What the hell did you do, yo?" he asked but he got no reply as my vision began to fade to black and I collapsed on the floor of the chopper.


	3. In The Heart of The Jungle

Chapter 3

"Hey, Ari?" I heard Eva say and I slowly opened my eyes. Clouds rolled through the pale blue sky and disappeared behind the thick, coarse canopy of the jungle foliage. I could faintly hear birds squawking and bugs buzzing by my ears.

"Great, you're awake, now can we get moving." said Reno and I propped myself up on my elbows.

"That's a nice thing to say after I saved your ass." I said and pushed myself up off the ground. I stumbled to the left a little before managing to regain my balance, using Eva's arm for support. I looked at Reno who stared at me with a gaze that was all too familiar. I could tell from his eyes that he was disgusted with me, that he thought I was a freak. I looked down at my feet before closing my eyes and turned away from Reno.

"We're close to the Temple of The Ancients, about an hour by foot," said Rude as he looked down at the coordinates on the small, silver flip phone in his hand, "we should get going." He said and set off into the thick underbrush of the jungle. I followed after him and Reno and Eva took up the rear. As we walked I could hear Eva and Reno actually having a civil conversation for once.

"Eva?" he asked.

"What do you want?" Eva growled. Ok, so maybe it wasn't exactly civil but at least Eva was trying to kill him.

"What the hell happened on the chopper with Ari?" he asked and I bit my lip as I heard the aversion in his voice. I clenched my fists together and keep quiet as I listened to their conversation.

"You best not stick your repugnant nose in business where it doesn't belong, asshole." Eva snapped; her anger flaring as her baby was being brought into the shooting range of Reno's curiosity.

"Hey, I want to know what the hell she did to me." he shot back in a low whisper. I felt my chest tighten. Did he think I was trying to kill him?

"As I said in the chopper, she was trying to help you so you didn't die." Eva snarled. Reno was quite for a few seconds before Eva let out a sigh.

"You really want to know what that was about?" she asked.

"Yes." Reno replied.

"Before Ari and I were born, our parents were part of the ShinRa Science Department. When our mothers were pregnant with us, the scientists injected the babies with different types of DNA. I was injected with the DNA from a fox and a raven while Ari has wolf and snake DNA within her. We were both enhanced with powers, like what you seen in the chopper. She has been able to do that since she was little." Eva explained. There was a long silence before Reno spoke again.

"I knew there was something wrong about you two, yo."

I heard one of them stop. I stopped as well and turned around. Eva stared at Reno and I stared at Eva. Her mouth was drawn in a stern line on her face and her eyes held a fire that wanted to destroy the red head for what he just said. I shared that fire but I tried to extinguish it.

"What did you just say?" Eva said as she closed that space between her and Reno with only a few footsteps.

"I knew that you two were different than the people in the Slums, yo." He said as he looked at Eva who stood only a few feet from him. I could tell Eva was getting mad just by how she curled her hands into fists. I was hoping that she would be the first one to lash out at Reno but when everything started to go black again, I knew that I was going to hit him.

 **Eva's POV**

I wanted to strike out and clip the red head square in the face but I knew Ari wouldn't like that very much so I curled my hands into fists instead. I stood there for a few seconds, staring at the red head with contempt in my eyes. I hated him now, I wanted to slap him, punch him, kick him; anything that would cause him pain. Suddenly, there was a flash from my side and I watched as Ari grabbed Reno by the collar and tackled him to the ground. The youngest Turk straddled his hips and slammed his body against the ground.

"What the hell would you know?" she yelled angrily. The red head winced in pain as his back collided with the ground. Ari drew her fist back and punched Reno in the jaw. "It's not like we had a choice." She said with another punch, "do you think we wanted to be born like this? Do you think it's any easier on us?" Ari asked, her fist repeatedly striking Reno in the face. "What the hell gives you the right to judge us? What makes you so high and god damn mighty?" blood began to come from Reno's face as Ari's knuckles split open his skin. Her punches began to get softer and softer as her emotions got the better of her. Tears began to streak her face and she let her hands drop onto Reno's chest.

"Ari…" Reno said as the younger one began to wipe the tears away with her sleeve.

"You wouldn't know what it's like to be like this. For me, every day is a struggle to keep the other side of me from breaking loose," she said through the tears, "that's why I said what I did on the chopper. I can tell from the way you look at me that I'm nothing more than a freak, a failed experiment." Ari said and I walked over to her, my hands lightly touching her shoulders.

"Come on Ari…let's get going." I said, trying to coax her off of Reno's lap. She was about to get up when Reno slowly lifted his hands and placed them on top of mine. With a little squeeze, he looked up at me. He lifted my hands away from Ari's shoulders and replaced them with his own, almost like he was being possessive of her. He slowly slid Ari off his lap and titled her head up with his fingers. Feeling a little left out, I opted to leave the two alone.

 **Original POV**

I could feel Reno move underneath me as he slowly slid me off his lap. I kept my gaze focused anywhere but his face but when he slipped his fingers under my chin and forced my head up, I found it harder to keep from looking at his aquamarine eyes. From over my shoulder, I heard Eva make her way to find where Rude had ended up. _Fucking traitor!_ I swore at her in my thoughts.

"Ari…" I heard Reno whisper and I felt him move forward to hug me but I brought my hands away from my face and shoved him away. He fell backwards a little as I curled myself up into an upright ball, I could feel myself cringe on the inside. Curling up into a ball was a habit I had for trying to shut out the world when I was upset; it made me feel somewhat childish and naïve. As I held myself tight, I could hear Reno get up off the ground. I shivered a little and focused on stopping the tears that were slowly making their way down my face.

"You should get up…Rude and Eva are going to wonder if we're ok." Said Reno and I looked up from my ball. Reno stood with his hand out stretched to me, a small smile on his split lips. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and slowly grasped his hand. With a yank, I was pulled to my feet.

"There ya go, yo." He said happily and I stared at him. He was acting like nothing happened, like I didn't just beat the shit out of him. He looked at me with a smirk and winked causing my gaze to drop. With a turn of my heels, I followed in the direction that Eva went.


	4. It's All Better Now

Chapter 4

After a few moments, Reno and I managed to catch up to Rude and Eva who were waiting for us.

"Finally," said Eva, "have you two gotten your shit together?" she asked and I remained silent as Reno grinned.

"Sure thing, demon hag. We're all good, yo. Right, Ari?" he asked as he nudged me with his elbow. I shoved my hands into my pockets and scuffed the dirt with the tip of my shoes, all while saying nothing.

"Mh mm." Eva hummed apprehensively and skeptically. Reno shrugged and I kept my gaze downward.

"Well whatever happened, it still looks like Reno got something that he deserved." Rude said and Eva laughed, "anyway, the temple should be just up ahead. I suggest we keep going until _someone_ gets hungry." The bulky man said with an accusing look at Reno, who grinned and pulled a pack of smokes from his pocket. He pulled one out and put it to his lips then held the packet out to me. I turned away slightly and shifted my weight to my left leg instead of my right. I heard Reno sigh as he put the pack back in his pocket and then pulled the red lighter out from under the strap of the goggles that he constantly wore. Eva and Rude started walking and Reno and I followed, it was silent in our little group as we walked but I could tell that Eva and Rude were texting, no doubt about what the hell happened to Reno's face. As the two in the front had their own electronic conversation going, Reno and I walked beside each other in silence. I could feel Reno's aqua eyes looking over at me from time to time but I kept ignoring him. Suddenly, I could feel something on my wrist and I glanced down to see Reno's lanky fingers fishing my hand out of my pocket. My face began to heat up as I could feel his fingers slowly trail down to my palm and slip themselves between my fingers. I looked over at him to see him smile at me lightly only to suck in air as the smile pulled apart the broken skin of his lip. I quickly looked away and snatched my hand away from his. I could feel him look at me as I folded my arms across my chest, a sign that I was uncomfortable. I let out a little sigh as I walked with Reno, wanting to crawl under a rock and die. I felt so bad for punching him…repeatedly but he deserved it.

"Hey, can we stop yo? I'm hungry as shit." Said Reno and the pair ahead of us stopped. Eva turned around and looked at me, her eyes conveying her worry clearly. I looked her and gave a half hearted smile and she smiled back lightly.

"We're stopping? Good, my feet are freaking killing me." said Eva as she plopped down on a rock, kicked off her shoes and began to rub the soles of her feet. I sat against the base of what looked to be a large orchid tree, my back pressed up to the smooth bark. I sat alone while the others gathered food from the surrounding bushes and trees. I looked at Eva as she perched back on her rock. She knew well enough to leave me alone when something bad happened, that's what I liked about her; that she understood me.

"Hey, aren't you hungry?" asked Reno as he sauntered over to my side. I watched quietly as he sat down beside me and handed me a berry that he had found. He held the little dark red orb between his index finger and his thumb, rolling it tantalizingly. I shook my head and looked away.

"Aw, come on. I'm sure they're not that bad." He joked and popped one in his mouth. On impulse, I quickly smacked the back of his head and watched the berry go flying from his mouth. He glared at me as he rubbed the back of his head but all I did was sigh thankfully. "What the hell was that for?" he asked and looked at the discarded berry.

"She saved your life again, numb nuts. Those berries are poisonous." Said Eva from her rock and Reno looked at me.

"I'm gonna owe you a lot of favors soon, yo." He said nonchalantly and I shook my head. As much as I was mad at him, I didn't want to see him hurt. "Can you come and help me find some food that ain't gonna kill me?" he asked with a feather light touch on my shoulder. I looked at Eva and she shrugged and gave a look that said _it's not going to kill you._ I bit the inside of my cheek and got up off the ground. I followed Reno as he walked deeper and deeper into the thick jungle in silence, nothing but the sound of the animals in the distance.

"Ari?" Reno asked as he stopped and turned around. I didn't look at him but somehow he still knew I was listening. The red headed Turk walked over to my side and I tried my best to keep myself from running back to Eva and Rude. Reno leaned down so that his mouth was next to my ear; his breath was hot against the nape of my neck as he breathed. I could feel as he slowly and lightly touched my arms with his hands. "I'm sorry…" he whispered softly, so soft that I could barely hear him, "I didn't mean to be such an ass back there, yo. It's just that I'm not used to things I don't understand." He whispered and I looked away.

"Then it's best if you stay away from me…I'm the type of person that people never understand." I whispered back and I heard Reno give a low chuckle.

"That's the thing, babe. I want to understand you, yo. I want to know more about you." He said sincerely and I balked. It was weird for Reno to be this…serious, rather than his usual goofy, nonchalant, and cynical attitude. I sat motionless for a few seconds before I felt Reno lean down lower till his forehead was on my shoulder. "Please, stop pushing me away, yo." He whispered sadly. I felt my chest tighten and I looked to the side where Reno's head rested on my shoulder.

"Reno…" I said as I unfolded my arms, slowly I brought them up and wrapped them around his neck. I could feel him slowly slide his arms down and softly enfold them around my waist. "You can't push me away either, ok?" I said and the older man nodded his head against my shoulder. We stood there for a few moments, wrapped in each other's arms before I felt Reno begin to pull away from me. I dropped my arms from around his neck and he smirked down at me.

"As much as I enjoyed that, I'm still kinda hungry…" he stated with a lop sided smile. I smiled lightly before looking around. There wasn't much here except for a few bushes and trees but I spied a small sapling that held a clump of small purple-ish berries. _Acai berries._ I thought to myself and began to pick a few of the small orbs off the sapling.

"Here, these are edible." I said and handed a small handful to Reno, who gladly accepted the berries and ate them in one bite. I gave him a look before shaking my head. Reno and I sat there eating the berries before there was a soft vibrating from my pocket. I reached down and pulled out my cellphone. Eva's name ran across the top of the screen.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, you two should make your way back to the chopper." Eva said and my brows knitted together in confusion.

"Why? I thought we had to head to the temple." I asked.

"Tseng just phoned and said that we are being recalled. The trace of whatever was at the temple has disappeared and we have no business there anymore." Eva explained and I let out a sigh.

"Fine, we'll meet you there." I said and Eva gave a small giggle.

"Don't get lost; I'm sure Reno would be no help to you unless you want to start a civilization." I pouted at her words.

"You need to shut the fuck up." I said and ended the call before she could make anymore smart remarks. Reno looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "we're being recalled. Whatever was at the temple is gone now." I explained and Reno nodded.

"Great just when we get close to the destination, leave it to Tseng to tell us to leave." Reno said as he put his hands on his hips and shook head. I smiled a little and began to walk back to where we had left Rude and Eva. _The two were probably gone back to the chopper by now._ I thought to myself as Reno and I headed back to the chopper. _I wonder what great and mighty mission Tseng has for us when we get back._ I thought; my hopes set on something easy like body guarding the President.


	5. Flashbacks Of A Former Life

Chapter 5

"I want you four on permanent standby for when the unknown life form shows up again." said Tseng as we sat in the Briefing Room, our suits all muddy from the sudden downpour that happened while we were only a few minutes from the chopper on our last mission. I crossed my arms across my chest and shook my hair out, splattering Eva in water droplets.

"Watch it." she warned as she wrung her ponytail out. I stuck my tongue out at her and stood up.

"Well if you don't mind me, I'm going to change before I catch a cold." I said and walked out into the hall.

"Ari, wait up." Said a voice behind me and I turned slightly to see Reno run up beside me.

"Mind if I tag along?" he asked as he jammed his hands into his pockets, "all my suits have gone to shit." He said with a grin.

"Then go put on some normal clothing." I said and began walking away from him.

"You're not even going to offer me a warm towel? Ouch, babe. You sure know how to make a man feel loved, yo." He said as he pretended to be mortally wounded.

"Fine, you can use my towels but you're responsible for washing them after." I said and led Reno to my apartment. I opened the door and Reno let out a low whistle.

"Damn, this is a nice place ya got, yo. How much is the President makin' you pay?" Reno asked as he clasped his fingers together behind his head.

"I don't pay for it. Tseng gave it to me." I said and threw my wet jacket on the kitchen table, "the bathroom is down the hall if you want some warm towels." I said, waving my fingers in mock quotations when I said 'warm towels'. Reno grinned and nearly ran to the bathroom. _I guess he must have been cold._ I thought as I walked to my kitchen and turned on my electric kettle.

"Reno, did you want some coffee!" I yelled. There was a brief silence before Reno responded.

"Yeah, I'll take one, yo. Just black would be great." He yelled back. I smiled as I spooned some coffee beans into two mugs. Faintly, I heard the bathroom door close and the loud _thud_ of Reno's feet against the hardwood floor.

"It should be done in a few minutes." I said as I turned around. My eyes widen as I looked at Reno. The lanky red head stood in my living room with nothing but a white towel wrapped around his thin waist. I felt my heart begin to race as I stood staring at him.

"Hey, Ari?" he asked, bringing my eyes up to his face rather than his chest. He gave me a toothy grin as he ran his fingers through his hair, "is it a little cold in here?" he asked and I titled my head to the side in a silent question. The red head's grin widened and he nodded down to my chest. I looked down and immediately blushed madly.

"You fucking pervert!" I shouted as I wrapped my arms over my chest and ran to my bedroom. I had completely forgotten what happens to white shirts whenever they get wet and cold. With a sigh, I pressed my back against the wall and unbuttoned my shirt.

"If makes you feel any better," Reno shouted from the living room, "I think purple looks fuckin' stunning' around those gorgeous tits." I looked down again to see if had gotten the color of my bra right, which he did. I wacked the back of my head against my door for being so stupid, I'm a girl; I should remember this kind of stuff.

"Whatever, at least he didn't see anything else." I mumbled to myself as I slowly began to strip myself of the wet and damp clothing. I quickly grabbed a black bra and matching underwear and slipped them on under a pair of baggy light grey track pants and a navy blue tank top. Before I left my room, I looked at myself in the mirror. Everything looked fine except for my hair. It was a mass of brown and blue curls thanks to the rain. I pouted at my reflection for a bit but then grabbed an elastic band from my dresser and tamed my hair into a messy bun.

"Finally, I thought you had died of embarrassment in there, yo." Reno said as he lounged in a rather provocative position on my couch. I gave him the middle finger before returning to the kitchen where the kettle sat with steam emanating from under the lid. I poured the water into the cups and brought them into the living room as Reno was still sprawled out across my couch. I handed him the cup and he grinned at me.

"Thanks babe." He said and sat the cup on the stand beside the arm rest, "so if we don't get called out tonight, do ya want to hang at my place?" he asked and I peered up from my mug.

"Sounds boring." I stated and took a sip of my coffee.

"Aw come on, I got booze and smokes. What could be more fun?" he asked rhetorically.

"Shooting myself in the foot." I joked and Reno pouted.

"That's not nice, yo." He huffed and I smiled.

"Fine, Mr. Pouty Pants, I'll go." I said and Reno instantly lightened up. He grinned as he pushed himself up from his reclining position and I fought not to look as the towel around his waist parted a bit.

"Ya can look if ya want to." Reno said seductively and I glared at him. It was hard to hide little things from Reno, no matter hard you tried, and he always found out if you were trying to look away or if you were trying to look.

"I'm fine, thanks." I said, trying to cover up my red face with my mug. Reno laughed and then drank the contents of his mug in one swallow.

"I better get back to my place. I have a few things to do. I'll come get you around 8, ok babe?" he asked and I shrugged.

"Whatever works for you; just as long as I get my towels back when you're done with them." I said and looked back at him. He grinned and nodded before he made his way to the door. He opened it just a crack only to be greeted with a kick to the shin. The older Turk grumbled and swore as he rubbed his abused knee cap as the door swung open. Eva stood with her hands over her eyes.

"Jesus Reno, could you at least wear some underwear." She complained as she walked over to my couch. She looked down at the wet mark where Reno's head was placed and raised her eyebrow at it.

"It's worse than I thought," she turned to Reno, "I swear if Ari gets pregnant then your ass is going to be hanging from my fireplace." She joked and Reno grinned.

"What the hell?" I asked as I threw a pillow at Eva's head.

"Trust me, devil woman, I always pull out." Reno said and ran out of my apartment as a coffee cup was hurled at his head. I shook my head as Eva kicked the door shut.

"What a little shit." She said and flopped down on the couch opposite the water mark. I glared at her and took a sip of my coffee.

"We didn't do anything, I hope you know." I said and Eva nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted him to leave without asking any questions." She said with a smile and I glared at her, "What?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"You owe me a new coffee cup." I snarled as I finished drinking my coffee. My friend smiled at me and shrugged. I raised my eyebrow at her and got up from where I was sitting.

"So what the hell was Reno doing here in just a towel?" Eva asked with a rising suspicion that Reno and I were doing the dirty. I rolled my eyes as I set my cup in my sink then turned to Eva with my hands on my hips.

"If you really need to know, Ms. I-Like-To-Be-In-Everyone's-Business, he made me feel bad for not offering him something warm after the downpour," I said and held my hands up in mock surrender, " shoot me for being nice." I said and walked over to pick the broken shards of the coffee mug off the floor. I heard Eva sigh behind me.

"Someone's grumpy." She said and I gave her the finger from over my shoulder. after a few seconds of silence, I stood up and discarded the shards into the garbage. "how are you anyways? I mean being cold and all." She asked and I smiled. Always count on Eva to worry over me even though I was in a shitty mood.

"I'm sluggish, oh so very sluggish." I said and plopped down into the chair across from Eva.

"It makes sense. Snakes have the tendency to become less active in cold weather." Eva said and I raised my eyebrow at her then shook my head with a smile.

"Leave it to the country bumpkin to know the tendencies of animals." I jibbed and Eva stuck her tongue put at me.

"Maybe I should leave you to get some sleep." She said as she stood up. I nodded enthusiastically as I yawned with my arms stretched above my head. Eva chuckled a bit and then left with a small goodbye. I rubbed my knuckle into my eye in an attempt to keep myself from falling asleep on the chair. With a little grunt I got up off the chair and shuffled to my bedroom. Seeing my bed was like seeing heaven; a comfy, warm, soft little piece of heaven. I sighed heavily as I remembered how warm the four comforters on my bed felt and I quickly crawled straight under the covers. A smile plastered my face as my body began to tingle with warmth and as soon as my head hit the down filled pillow, I was out.

 _Rain steadily beat down on the city as the people rushed through the streets to take shelter from the sudden downpour but the two shadowy bundles in the alleyway sat with no place to go. One, a female with long, matted honey brown hair, sat with her back pressed against the rough, brick wall while a taller but younger and frailer girl huddled next to her. The frail girl let out a weak cough causing the older girl to reach over and rub her back, her face knitted with worry and worn through with anxiety._

 _"Here, drink this. It should help." Said the older one and handed the younger girl a bottle that contained a few drops of water. The younger shook her head, her ratty brown and blue hair wilting lifelessly over her small and gaunt face. "god damn it, drink it Ari." The older one said and forced the bottle into Ari's hands. From under the chestnut brown nest, two cerulean eyes that had once been filled with happiness now peered up at the older one with fatigue and dread._

 _"But what about you, Eva?" asked Ari and Eva smiled lightly, though with the exhaustion and lack of sleep, it turned into more of a grimace._

 _"You need it more than I do." She said softly and Ari hesitantly sipped from the bottle. In the silence, Eva heard Ari sigh with relief as the tiny trace of water calmed the rage in her throat. Eva looked up at the sky as it began to faintly get lighter and lighter, signaling the approach of dawn. She sighed and looked down at her sickly friend who had fallen asleep thanks to the mild sedative that Eva had slipped into the water._

 _"I can get your friend help." said a smooth and monotonous voice. Eva, being more vigilant then her sleeping friend, quickly jumped into a crouched position; her trusty but rusted knife in her hand. She looked forward at where the voice came from and a man, no more than 25, stood in a black suit with his arms clasped behind his back. Eva looked him up and down. He didn't look menacing, with his jet black hair pulled into a tight ponytail and his eyes of deep obsidian but Eva knew better than to trust people based on their looks alone. She gripped her knife tighter and cautiously took a step to the side to block the man from Ari. The man stared at her, waiting for an answer. "Well?" he asked, his voice not changing. He tried to take a step towards the two disheveled girls but a sudden flash made him stop, his eyes widening at the two gossamer black wings that had protruded from Eva's back._

 _"Don't come any closer." Eva warned, her teeth becoming pointed. The outside of her eyes had also become darker and she now resembled a grotesque but somehow beautiful mix between a human and a raven. The sides of the man's mouth curled upwards a bit._

 _"I'm not here to cause harm. I've heard much about you two," he said and brought his arms out from behind his back. In one hand he held a sheet of paper. He looked down at it. "Names, Evangileon Ashrin Talia Hayate and Arizia Zayel Akane; two girls, both homeless, seen around the Slums causing crimes and mischief. Both of their parents were part of the Science department, used as testing subjects. Evangileon tested with raven and fox DNA and Arizia tested with wolf and snake." The man said and Eva looked away from his cold gaze. "you've been causing a storm in the department where I work." He said and Eva glared at him._

 _"And where might that be?" she snarled._

 _"I work for the_ _Department of Administrative Research, otherwise known as the Turks." He said and Eva flinched._

 _"So you work for ShinRa?" she sneered and the man closed his eyes and tilted his head down a bit._

 _"I wouldn't exactly say it in that sense but yes, I work for ShinRa." Eva lowered herself._

 _"We're never heading back there so what do you want with us?" she asked in a low voice. The man crouched down to look her in the eye._

 _"You and your friend are a valuable asset for any organization to have," he said and Eva narrowed her eyes at the man, "My name is Tseng and I'm offering you two a chance to lead a more comfortable life…"_


	6. Ruined Friendship

I woke with a start, my heart racing and my skin covered in a cold sweat. I looked around my room in a panic only to realize that I was alone. I sighed as I dropped back on to my bed, my heart still racing. I looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds before I rolled my head to the side and looked at my alarm clock. 7:55. I sighed again. Reno should be here soon. With that thought in mind, I slowly slipped out of my bed and flicked on the over head light. I stumbled to my closet and slid the white door open. I quickly glanced over my wardrobe to see if I could find anything casual on the first glance. Nothing. I sighed and began to sift through the various shades of dark colors. Finally, I found something that went together; a pair of jaded and ripped jeans and a low cut black tank top. I knew it seemed a little underdressed considering it was fall but I had been to Reno's apartment once or twice and I swear that he doesn't know how to turn down the heat in that place. I quickly shimmied out of my track pants and tank top before I donned the clothing I picked out. I headed into my front room and was greeted by a joyful knock on my door. I smiled lightly and opened the door. Reno stood while leaned against my doorframe with his arms doubled over his chest. He wore a simple white t-shirt, a pair of grey jeans and a chain around his neck.

"Ya ready to go?" he asked and I nodded. Together we walked down the hall, again in complete silence.

"So what kinda of booze do you have?" I asked and Reno grinned.

"Anything you want babe." He said with a wink and I blushed again.

"How about smokes?" I asked and he pulled a pack of Next Red's out of his pocket.

"There's about 10 more back at my place." He said and I looked at him.

"10?" I asked; a bit surprised. The red head laughed and nodded.

"I don't get out much thanks to our asshole boss." He said and I laughed.

"Ok, he isn't that bad." I stated through my laughter. Reno looked down at me and scratched the back of his head.

"That's 'cause you haven' seen him when someone goes wheelin' down the hallways on a chair." He said and I laughed again.

"Let me guess, that someone was you." Reno looked down when I said that.

"In my defense, I was drunk." He huffed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"How drunk?" I asked skeptically. Reno pulled at the collar of his shirt and looked at me almost shamefully.

"10 beers, a Texas Mickey of Kraken and half a 40 ounce of vodka…" he said quietly and I cringed, anyone who lived after drinking that much must have a liver of steel. Reno and I laughed as he stopped outside of Reno's apartment. Silently, I waited as he punched a series of digits into the keypad and, with a beep, the door swung open. I assumed that since Reno had been with the Turks for so long and the he was Second-In-Command, that he had been given a better apartment than the lower class Turks like Eva and I. I stepped into his apartment and looked around. it was the same as the previous times that I had visited; a few dishes sat in the sink, numerous empty liquor bottles and cans were left on the tables and counters, empty cigarette packs were left around the garbage can like Reno had thrown them to see if he could get them in, and the TV and Xbox were left on. I sighed with my hands on my hips.

"You seriously need to talk to Tseng about hiring you a maid or something." I joked and threw myself on to Reno's black leather couch while he grabbed a case of beer from the fridge. As he walked over to me, he smiled to himself.

"What about hiring you? I wouldn' mind seein' your body in one of them French maid outfits." He said and I kicked him in the ass as he walked by me.

"Trust me, if I was around you in something like that then I would be wearing a chastity belt underneath." I said and caught the beer that Reno had tossed at me. The older man grinned as he flopped down beside me and kicked his legs up on to the coffee table in front of us. As I kicked up my feet beside Reno's, there was a fidgeting at the door and I looked over as I took a sip of my beer.

"Don't worry, babe. It's probably just Rude." Reno said and I relaxed. I wasn't very good at relaxing but when I was with Reno it somehow made it a little bit easier to unwind. The door opened slowly and Reno was right. Rude walked into the apartment wearing a white muscle shirt under a black leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans with a chain dangling on his hip.

"yo, Rude. How was your date?" Reno asked as he spread the arm closest to me across the back of the couch. Rude, being the silent type grunted his response as he walked over and sat in the chair next to the couch.

"it was alright I suppose, Mai had to leave early though." said the eldest Turk as he leaned forward and plucked a beer from the case with his large hands. I looked Rude up and down. I wasn't really familiar with the large, mocha skinned man because he barely said anything but he was a nice man from what I heard. He stood a few inches taller than me, which put him at roughly 6 feet or more. I knew that Reno and he were good friends since they were partners and have been for a long time.

"anyway, I should get going," Rude said as he placed the now empty beer can on the table, "Tseng wants Eva and I to give a verbal report on what happened to the chopper we were flying." He explained and I nodded in understanding while Reno hummed his response. As Rude left, I could feel as the arm behind me slowly made its way down my back and rested on my waist. I looked at Reno from the corner of my eye and I could see that he was looking at me as well. Slowly, Reno leaned forward and set his can on the table, then leaned back and tightened the grip around my waist. My face began to heat up as I was slowly pulled closer to the older man's side. I set my beer down on the table and looked at Reno; the redhead smiled lightly and then leaned closer to me. I turned away from him as his face stopped only inches from mine and he sighed. I smiled lightly to myself, I was just trying to play hard to get, but when I felt the pair of soft lips against the crook of my neck, all restraints on my composer went out the window. I bit my lip to try and hold back the moan that had pooled up in my throat as Reno began to playfully bite and nibble at the skin on my neck. I lightly titled my head to the side as Reno scooted closer to me, his warm body heating mine up even more. Both of his hands were on me now, the hand around my waist had lifted my shirt up a tad to rub small circles against the skin on my ribs while the other reached around and cupped the side of my face. my head was forced to turn toward Reno as he leaned in more and covered my lips with his. A small shiver went up my back as I lifted my hands to run through Reno's red tresses, considering how spiky they were, they were surprisingly soft and silky. I moaned softly as Reno ran his warm tongue over my bottom lip, wanting badly for me to open my mouth. I hesitantly parted my lips and Reno's tongue darted in quickly. Slowly, I began to get more and more passionate with my kissing and I crawled forward so that I was now straddling Reno's hips. I gripped the sides of Reno's face as our kiss got more heated, more passionate, more…lustful. Finally, after a few seconds, we both pulled back; gasping for air and only then did I realize that Reno's hands had grazed over my hips and were now rested on my ass.

"Reno…" I moaned while Reno's hands flexed around my ass. I looked down at him; his eyes were darker now; filled with a raging lustful intent. The lanky man grinned as he leaned up and attacked my neck again with that indecent but sharp mouth. I moaned loudly as he sucked on the sensitive juncture where my neck connected with shoulder. My eyes instinctively closed and I tilted my head back, letting Reno have more access to my neck. Slowly, I opened my eyes and froze. Everything was more intense, sharper as I looked around. I could feel my teeth become more pronounced as Reno continued kissing his way down to my collarbone.

"Reno, stop." I said and he pulled away a bit.

"what's wrong?" he asked, his breath cascading over my skin. my heart began to sink and I immediately looked down, my loose hair coming down and covering my face. I began to shudder as Reno tried to lift up my head. "come on, babe. What's wrong, yo?" he asked softly and I jerked my head away from his fingers.

"we should stop." I said, my voice becoming a little slurred as it tried to push past the fangs in my mouth. I heard Reno let out a grunt of confusion.

"Ari, what's wrong? You can tell me," he said and then leaned down to my ear, brushing the loose locks away with his fingers, "I won't push you away, please look at me." he whispered and when he leaned back, I lifted my head to look at him. I could see as he looked over my face and I knew he had seen my eyes; my now amber colored wolf eyes. I looked at Reno shamefully to see what he would do but he just smiled lightly, leaned forward and kissed each of my eyelids.

"why should we stop? There's nothing wrong." He whispered and I sighed.

"yes there is, if we continue like this then you're gonna have a wolf to deal with." I mumbled and Reno chuckled. He lightly caressed my back as he pushed the hair out of my face.

"fine," he mumbled and then rested his head on my shoulder, "but you gave me a bit of a problem, yo." He said and moved his hips a bit. I could feel the hardness in Reno's pants nudge against my thigh and I balked, and then smiled. I slipped off his lap and sunk to the floor, gently moving his thighs apart. He looked down at me with wide eyes as I looked up at him from under my lashes and proceeded to trail my hands up and down his thighs. Unhurriedly, I leaned forward; my face coming only centimeters from Reno's jeans. I could feel as Reno watched me intently, his turquoise eyes following my every move while I reached forward, unbuttoned his jeans and pulled the zipper down. Underneath, I could see his black and red boxers bulging and twitching as I let my breath begin to warm the flesh underneath even more. I smiled up at him while my hands slowly moved his pants down to his ankles. Reno let out an excited breath as I leaned down and let my tongue slowly run up the outline of his hardening member. I moved my hands forward and hooked my fingers under the elastic waistband of his boxers and slipped them down his legs to join his pants. Reno hissed as his heated member sprung free and landed on his stomach with a _slap_.

"oh Jesus…" he mumbled and threw his head back as I softly touched the heated flesh of his arousal. It was warm on my fingertips, like heated candle wax. The skin was smooth as I pressed my fingers harder against it, and then slowly wrapped my hand around it. I began to pump my hand up and down while Reno swore under his breath. I grinned lightly as I deliberately dragged my tongue over the slit in the head. That seemed to send shivers over Reno's skin as his body tensed and his back lifted off the couch a bit. He let out a strangled noise even as my lips were now puckered around the tip. I began to place feather light kisses across the head and down the shaft before moving back to the head and placing it on my tongue. Reno groaned loudly as I wrapped my mouth around his erection, sucking the heated rod deeper and deeper into my throat. I moaned around his arousal at the same time as one of his hands landed on my head, pushing me further toward his stomach. Soon, my nose became buried in the red nest of curls and Reno bucked his hips forward, choking me as he tried to force his member further into my mouth. I glared up at him as I slowly began to rub the underside of his arousal with my tongue while I applied a bit of suction. Reno bucked his hips forward as I began to pull away and I used my tongue to protect the sensitive flesh from being injured by my fangs.

"having fun?" I asked as I returned to pumping his member with my hand but all Reno did was moan and tilt his head to the side. I smiled before replacing my tongue back on Reno's head, swirling it and flicking it across the hardened skin.

"unnn…Ari, I'm gonna-…" Reno started but was cut off as a loud grunt was forced out of his throat. I could feel his member twitch under my hand and I grinned devilishly then covered the head again with my mouth. I pumped my hand faster and faster and Reno's hips began to buck more frequently. I could feel as Reno was being pushed closer to the edge and with a strangled cry of my name, Reno came; his white essence exploding into my mouth in uneven surges. His body convulsed lightly as I sat back on my knees and wiped my mouth with my thumb. Wearily, Reno lifted his head and watched as I swallowed what he gave me. I looked up at him and blushed.

"that…was amazing." He mumbled before letting his head fall back. I laughed lightly as I lifted his jeans and boxers and put them back around his hips. I sat down beside Reno and placed my head against his shoulder. the exhausted Turk let his arm drop off the back of the couch to grip my waist again. "if I ask again," he said and lowered his head to look at me, "would you say yes?" he asked and I looked away for a moment before smiling.

"you don't even need to ask." I said and kissed his cheek. Reno smiled happily and pulled me closer. We sat for a few minutes in silence before my phone began to vibrate. I fished it out of my pocket and answered it.

"hey, Eva." I said and there was a long silence before Eva said anything.

"get to my apartment now, Arizia." She said and hung up. I looked down at my phone before fearing the worst. I grabbed Reno's hand and hauled him to his feet.

"yo, what the hell?" he asked as I swung open the door, "can I please have a few fuckin' minutes to come down?" he asked but I was already pulling him down the hallway.

"can't, Eva wants me at her apartment ASAP." I said and Reno sighed. I stopped outside Eva's apartment and knocked hesitantly on the door. It opened slowly to reveal Eva standing with her arms across her chest. I could tell by the look on her face that she was pissed off. she took one look at me then glared at Reno and without moving, she swung her arm out and slapped him.

"Eva!" I yelled and grabbed her wrist before she could do anymore damage. Reno stumbled back a bit and glared at her, his face turning red where she had slapped him.

"what the fuck did I do this time?" he snarled and Eva's eyes widened in rage.

"you fucking pervert. I'm going to kill you for taking advantage of Ari." She growled and went to lunge for Reno again when I grabbed her.

"what the hell are you talking about? He never took advantage of me." I said and Eva whipped around to face me.

"don't fucking lie. I heard what was going on in his apartment." She said and I looked at her.

"he didn't do anything. I willingly did it myself." I said and Eva glared at me.

"you willingly gave head to that… _thing_?" she asked and I pressed my lips together.

"did I fucking stutter?" I retorted and Eva raised her hand to slap me but then lowered it and furrowed her brow. I glared at Eva as I clenched my teeth together. "I don't see the reason as to why I need your permission to date someone." I growled and Eva looked at me like I had just killed someone.

"you need my permission because I'm the one watching over you." She snapped.

"you may watch over me but you are _not_ my mother nor will you ever _be_ my mother," I said and went over to Reno's side. I watched as Eva bit her lip in frustration.

"I just want to make sure your safe." She said and I looked at her.

"a task that doesn't need to involve you sticking your nose in what I do with Reno." I quipped and Eva looked away.

"I will stick my nose where it is needed." She snapped back and those words alone broke the last hold on my anger.

"No, you will not! Not with me. I'm so sick of you shoving your nose in every little thing I do. I'm not a child, I'm 18 and I will do what I fucking want. Do you know what it feels like to have someone micromanaging you? It feels like I'm not my own person. It feels like I can't do anything by myself without having your consent. I just want to live the life I want and if that involves Reno then so be it. If you can't be fucking happy that there is someone who actually likes me then…fine with me." I said and stormed off down the hall. I could hear as Reno followed behind me and the small sobs that were racked from Eva's body as I walked away. Yes I did feel bad for yelling at Eva and making her cry but sometimes she just needs to let me do my own thing.

"That was harsh, yo." I heard Reno mumble as he tried to keep up with me. I stopped in my tracks and looked at him. I could feel the tears spring to my eyes and I slowly stepped up to Reno. I guess he must have seen that I was sad as he pulled me to his chest. I softly wept into his shirt as one of his hands held my head close to him and the other slowly ran up and down my back. He hushed me softly and then looked down at me. "That was what my old lady was like. Always complainin' that I was doing badly in school or that I got caught by the police, She never let me do what I frickin' wanted but one day I told her to go straight to hell and I never looked back." He mumbled and I felt a bit better. Maybe it was good that I told Eva what I thought. If she still wanted to be friends then maybe she wouldn't be so nosy…the main word being if.


	7. In The Rain

Chapter 7

Eva sat silently outside as a sudden drizzle came down from the heavens. She looked down at her feet as the tiny raindrops fell on her black and purple running shoes, but she wasn't exactly sure if they were raindrops or the tears that had silently made their way to the surface. She had always felt very protective of Ari, even to the point of thinking of herself as a surrogate mother. But that was wrong, she knew better than to think of herself as Ari's mother and the younger girl had hated it when she did that anyways. It was more like Eva was a guardian than an actual mother but sometimes the line between the two got blurred. Ari was the one of the two to throw her life into dangerous matters and to find relationships with some dangerous people, in other words she was reckless; reckless, irresponsible, thoughtless, uncontrolled, careless. The list went on when it came to Ari and Eva was the only one to keep her in line.

"you'll catch a cold out here." Said a voice and Eva lifted her head to see Tseng standing in front of her. He held a black umbrella over his head. Eva looked at him and then dropped her gaze back down to the ground. In the silence, she could hear the soft _thud_ of Tseng's shoes on the ground as he walked up to hold the umbrella over Eva's head. slowly, he squatted down to Eva's level and tilted the younger girl's head up. Eva looked up at Tseng, his eyes looking warmer than they had been when the two had first met. Instead of being their usual dark onyx color, Eva could see the warm brown highlights that shone in the rays of the streetlight. The leader of the Turks smiled lightly and brought his fingers towards Eva's face, pulling the soaked strands of hair away from her skin and tucking them behind her head. "You're still the cold little fox I found that day. A little healthier but still the same fox." He said softly and Eva blushed.

"I only have you to thank for that. if not for you then Ari and I would be dead." Eva said lightly and then reached forward, ever so slightly, and put her head on Tseng's shoulder. the older man balked faintly and then chuckled softly. Eva scooted closer to the edge of the bench she was sitting on and pressed herself closer to Tseng as the older man wrapped his one free arm around the girl's waist.

"I'll take you to your apartment." He said and the two began to walk back inside. As they walked up to the front doors, there was the sound of laughing behind them. Eva turned slowly to see her favorite red head chasing Ari through the forming puddles. Ari let out a squeak as the red Turk grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her into the air. the two laughed and spun around in the rain. Eva and Tseng watched on as Ari wrapped her legs around Reno's waist and grabbed the side of his face, placing her lips forcefully of his. Eva could tell, even at a distance, that the kiss was hard enough to bruise and was full of nothing but teeth and tongue. Eva felt a bit disgusted at first and then sad that her position was being taken over by that red headed ass. She moved closer to Tseng and the older man looked down at the depressed girl then looked back at his two workers as they had gotten a bit more passionate with their kissing. He smiled lightly as leaned down to Eva and placed his lips gently on his favorite workers cheek as she watched her friend. Eva let out a startled noise as her body tensed and when Tseng's lips left her skin, she reached up and lightly brushed the spot that had just been occupied by the warmest and softest lips she had felt in her life, besides the ones that belong to her mother…or what she remembered of her. She turned slightly to her boss and watched as he smiled with warm eyes and opened the front door.

"you don't have to watch over me." said Eva as she shook her hair loose, sending water everywhere. Tseng smiled lightly and watched from the doorway as Eva combed her hair with her fingers.

"I know but…I would rather stay here." Tseng said softly and strode over to Eva, who was staring at him in disbelief. His smirk grew into a smile as he came face to face with Eva, then he lifted his hand and gently cupped her face. Eva let out a small breath and then nuzzled her face into the warm hand, like a cat seeking affection, and closed her eyes, basking in the warmth and scent of the older man's hand. Tseng's soft skin smelt of white orchids and coconut, and calmed Eva to no extent. Slowly, she could feel Tseng run his thumb over her bottom lip and while she opened her eyes, Eva flicked her tongue to graze over the pad of Tseng's digit. She swore she heard Tseng purr while she drew the digit into her mouth and began to nibble on the soft underside of his thumb. After a few seconds, Tseng withdrew his finger a slight bit and traced over Eva's lips with the now wet skin of his thumb, the rapidly growing fire in his body slowly causing his eyes to take on a smoldering look. He watched Eva as she lifted her hands up and undid the white elastic that kept his hair in a neat ponytail, and then she slowly brushed her fingers through the silky, raven black strands. Tseng felt his eyes start to close as the younger girl combed her fingers delicately through his hair, a small smile graced his features as he opened his eyes and leaned down, capturing Eva's mouth with his. Eva's eyes widened before she smiled against Tseng's lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her closer to the Wutainese man. It was a sweet rapture as Eva kissed Tseng back, both of their mouths pecking small kisses on each other. Every few kisses, Tseng's hands would lightly graze the wet cloth that clung to Eva's torso and her hands would reciprocate back and lightly tug at the collar of his suit. Finally, they pulled away from each other, their chests rising and falling to catch the breath that they had been holding. Eva glanced up at Tseng who looked down at her, his eyes two burning orbs that were filled with desire but also with a certain need to be gentle. Eva could tell that even though Tseng wanted to go further, he didn't want to push her to fast, and she appreciated that, more than the older man would know. The two stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, warm, chocolate brown searching deep into icy blue orbs and vice versa. Tseng could see the hurt and pain from Eva's past life in her eyes, which had usually remained cold and distant and he found himself wanting to take all the loneliness and suffering away from her. He knew how the fire of pain grew into an inferno of anguish and he wanted to stomp out the fire that had started in Eva. With that thought in mind, the Turk leaned down and hooked his arm behind Eva's knees, her soaked jeans dampening his suit as he proceeded to lift the, surprisingly, light bodied girl into his arms. Eva let out a squeak as she was lifted and threw her arms around Tseng' neck. When Tseng stood up, he felt Eva burry her face into the nook of his shoulder and he smiled lightly. Even though Eva was a fully grown woman, she had times were she acted like nothing more than a scared teenage girl. Slowly, he walked to her bedroom and placed the shivering girl down on the purple covered bed. She slowly looked up at him as he stood in front of her, his eyes watching her softly.

"Tseng, I…" Eva started but looked down at her feet, obviously embarrassed by something.

"we don't have to go any further than this. I won't force you to do anything against your own volition." He stated tenderly causing Eva's mouth to form a taut line across her face. Tseng could tell that she was having conflicting emotions, and he guessed she was stuck between choosing passion over protection. Eva had always been a girl that had walls upon walls built up to protect her true self and different personalities when it came to different people. Ari had been the only one to date to break down some of these walls, but Tseng was hoping that by showing his feeling for Eva, that he could demolish a few more. He smiled lightly before unbuttoning his jacket and slipping it off his lithe body and neatly put it on the chair that sat to his side. He watched Eva as her eyes looked over his body while his fingers busied themselves with the buttons on the white shirt he was wearing. Soon enough, the white shirt fell off of Tseng's torso and he put it to hang with his jacket. Eva looked at Tseng as he waited for her to move and, surely enough, Eva got up off the bed and stood in front of Tseng. Her eyes were much softer now and a faint smile adorned her face. She reached up on her toes and pressed her lips to Tseng's, showing the older man that she had made her choice. Tseng smiled as he kissed Eva back and gently hooked his fingers under the black shirt that she was wearing, his fingers brushing the lily white skin underneath. He could feel Eva suck in a breath as he gradually lifted the shirt over her head. Eva blushed madly as her torso was exposed and she fought the urge to cover herself up. Tseng smiled but noticed that Eva wasn't trying to cover up her front but trying to hide something on her back. Tseng had a faint inkling of what it might have been and unhurriedly, he spun Eva around and looked at the two folded black wings that rested against her skin. The ends were tucked into the top of her pants but were slowly starting to come out. Tseng could visibly see Eva shaking and he felt his chest tighten. Little by little, he lifted his hands and placed them on Eva's quivering shoulders. Her skin was cold against his, cold and damp as he lovingly trailed his hands over her shoulder blades, feeling the muscles tense as his fingers made their way closer and closer to where the two gossamer black wings connected to her back. Eva let out a whimper as Tseng touched her most shamed fault. He softly hushed her and coaxed her into stretching out the left wing. His eyes mapped over the impressively large wing and his fingers delicately touched the smooth black feathers.

"they're beautiful…" Tseng mumbled and Eva stopped shaking. She looked back over her shoulder at Tseng who was still admiring her wing, "truly a work of art, like something out of a dream." He said and then glanced at Eva with his head still turned to the wing. " ever since I was little I dreamed of having wings." He stated softly, blushing at the naivety of his childhood. Eva looked away.

"wings are for monsters." She said quietly and it caused Tseng to chuckle.

"I would have to disagree with you," he said and Eva gave him a questioning look, "Cissnei once said that wings symbolize freedom." He said softly and then wrapped his arms around Eva's waist, bringing their skin flush together. He leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear, "freedom for those who have none." He whispered and Eva's eyes widened before she smiled sadly.

"Freedom is the one thing that we don't have enough of in this world." She muttered quietly before curling her wings up again and turned to face Tseng who had let out a small sigh.

"not in this company, no." he agreed and cupped Eva's face again. Eva closed her eyes with a soft smile and then leaned forward to rest her head on Tseng's chest. She listened as the dull thud of Tseng's heart sounded in her ears, calming her racing a heart a bit. It was just like Tseng to remain calm when the people around him were in a near panicked frenzy. Softly, she could feel Tseng's hands ride up and down her back. She looked up at him and placed another kiss on his lips, hoping it would cause the fire in him to kindle and grow. Her hopes were right as she felt Tseng kiss her back forcefully, his tongue slipping past her lips and fighting with hers. The two wet muscles fought for dominance but Eva's was quickly over come, but that was fine to her; she didn't put up much of a fight anyway. Eva basked in the sensation of Tseng's lips on hers and his hands gracing over her skin, tracing small and intricate circles across her skin with his fingertips. Her back was attacked with constant tiny shivers as Tseng's fingertips found all the places that made the hairs on her body raise. She could feel Tseng's mouth twitch as he tilted his head slightly to the left, forcing hers to the right, deepening their kiss. Their kiss wasn't anything like what Ari and Reno had; it was deeper, more bonding whereas Reno and Ari's was more passionate and lustful. Considering the closed off and detached personalities that Eva and Tseng shared, their kiss was more like a way to better understand each other; there wasn't anything sexual about it. Eva lifted her hands up and laid them flat against Tseng's stomach, feeling the iron like muscles move underneath as he breathed. She began to move her hands slowly upwards and stopped as she noticed that Tseng was copying her with his hands on her body. Shyly, she looked down while still kissing Tseng and seen that both of their hands had stopped right on each other's ribs, hers being below Tseng's pectoral muscles and Tseng's hands being below her breasts. There was a sudden rising panic inside Eva that was slowly smothered by the overwhelming need to move her hands up more, knowing that Tseng would mimic the movements of her hands. Leisurely, Eva moved her hands up bit by bit, trembling as she felt Tseng's hands move again as well. Something inside her was relieved as Tseng's hands had finally made their way to fully grope her breasts.

"Are you ok with this?" Tseng asked quietly as he pulled away from Eva, feeling her heart racing beneath her skin. Eva bit her lip and grinned up at Tseng as the playful side in her came out. She reached up and pecked Tseng on the lips as her hand slipped south and lightly fondled the growing bulge in Tseng's black suit pants. The older man let out a small moan and closed his eyes as Eva's finger danced over the fabric that concealed his hardness that ached for her and her touch. Tseng smiled down at her and tightened his grip on her breasts lightly, wanting to get a bit of revenge. Eva let out a gasp and her eyes rolled back as Tseng's hands opened and closed slowly and softly around the two mounds on her chest.

"I didn't know you had a playful side, Tseng." She whispered softly as she rested her head on his shoulder and licked a small trail from his collarbone up to his ear.

"I used to have one in my old life." he whispered back and nibbled lightly on Eva's shoulder. he smiled against her skin as her fingers began to toy with the zipper to his pants. For some reason, it was like she abandoned her protective nature and adopted a more playful and shameless demeanor as her one hand still lingered over his zipper while the other caressed his hair again. Gradually, Tseng could feel his pants become less and less strained as Eva slid his zipper down and undid the button of his pants. He let out a small sigh as some of the pressure against his hardened member was released a bit, but was still confined by the black boxers he wore, and he looked down as Eva slowly slid down his body until she kneeled in front of him, her breath cascading over the black boxers that were resting tightly on his hips. She glared teasingly up at him from under her lashes while her fingertips crept under the waistband of his boxers and slipped the thin material, along with his pants, down to his ankles. Tseng's eyes nearly closed in relief as all the pressure was taken off of his arousal as it was freed from its confinement. Tseng waited a bit nervously as he stood in front of Eva, his member standing as well. The young recruit looked at what was in front of her, then with a lick of her lips, she kissed the head; chastely and softly. Her slow teasing was enough to drive Tseng insane as she let the tip of her tongue ride smoothly across the skin of the head before circling her way downward to the underside of his shaft. Eva pressed the full length of her tongue against the large vein situated along the bottom of Tseng's arousal, then moved forward so that her tongue could run along the base of the large appendage where it connected with the skin of Tseng's pelvic area. The man above her was now letting out soft moans and grunts as she took him deeper into her mouth, his warm brown eyes closing and his soft lips parted to let out the heavy gasps of air.

"Eva. Enough." Tseng said as he stepped away from her. Eva looked up in shock. Had she done something wrong? Tseng smiled down at her while stepping out of the heap of cloth that was pooled around his feet and lifted Eva until she was standing. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed her again, then gave her a little shove so that she was sent backwards to sprawl out across the dark purple covers of her bed. She watched Tseng from propped elbows as the lithe man began to crawl on top of her, their eye contact never breaking. As Tseng positioned himself over top of her, he noticed that she was faintly trembling. His chest tightened again and he lifted his hand to cup her cheek. Eva looked at him and gave a half hearted smile before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him forcefully on the lips. Eva wanted nothing more than to stay in this moment for the rest of her life, it was like a dream, a fairytale; it was like heaven. As their tongues swirled together again, Tseng's hands coasted down Eva's sides until her reached the top of her jeans. His fingers moved deftly over the course fabric, undoing the button and pulling the zipper down, and he slowly shimmied her jeans down to her ankles where they were kicked off and flung haphazardly to the other side of the room. Eva broke away from Tseng and pulled him closer as his hands returned to her breasts, continuing their slow torture. He rubbed his thumbs flatly over her piqued nipples as he kissed and bit her neck, his teeth seeking to mark her as his own. Eva moaned at the overwhelming feeling of Tseng's slow paced torture. She could feel herself getting aroused with every second of his playful teasing and it was driving her crazy. She sighed in disappointment as Tseng's one hand abandoned her left breast and traveled south. Eva sucked in a quick breath as she felt Tseng's hand ghost over her heated flesh and she longed for that hand to bury itself inside her. As if he read her mind, Tseng smiled lightly as he pressed his first finger against Eva's scorching folds and he found himself craving to her Eva moan as she repeatedly whispered his name with every small movement his fingers made. The way her chest rose and fell along with her face plastered with ecstasy made Tseng wild and he could more of his blood rush south to his rising member. The older Turk buried his face in the side of Eva's neck and attacked her soft skin with kisses and bites while his fingers worked their way into a thrusting frenzy. Eva became a moaning mess as her superior began to pump his fingers faster, driving her closer and closer to the edge. She could feel a slow burning sensation coil up in her stomach while her thighs began to shake. Tseng could feel as Eva's breath became ragged as she gripped the sheets of her bed tighter and tighter.

"Tseng…" she panted, "I'm gonna…" Eva mumbled but stopped, her words getting caught in her throat as the tight coil in her stomach finally sprung loose, setting her body on fire and causing her to throw her head back in pleasure. Tseng waited patiently with his teeth still nibbling at Eva's neck as she used his fingers to ride out her orgasm. Soon her body began to relax and her arched back fell on to the sheets once again. Her breath came out in long gasps as her hands slowly reached up to wrap around Tseng's neck. after a few moments of embracing, Tseng leisurely reared up on to his knees and held Eva's gaze with his own as he proceeded to lick away the cooling liquid from his fingers. Eva's eyes widened as her face became a bright red and she turned her face away from Tseng who smiled and leaned down to Eva once again. His large hand came up and turned Eva's face towards him. He glanced over her blushing face, bit his bottom lip then captured Eva's parted lips with his. As the two Turks basked in their sweet embrace, a quiet ringing came from the pocket of Tseng's jacket. Immediately, the superior Turk bolted upright and reached over the retrieve a small silver cellphone from his jacket.

"This is Tseng." He said calmly. There was a brief silence before Tseng's eyes closed and he nodded, "understood." He said and flipped the phone shut. Eva looked at him longingly but knew exactly what the phone call meant.

"The President?" she asked breathlessly and Tseng nodded with a quick sigh. Eva let out a small groan of disappointment as the warmth from Tseng disappeared as he rose from the bed and proceeded to redress himself. Eva sat up and watched as Tseng slipped his jacket over his slender shoulders. He turned slowly as walked to the side of Eva's bed. He ran his fingers over the side of her face and planted a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry." he whispered as he pulled away and looked in Eva's eyes. She smiled in an understanding way and shrugged.

"I guess you'll have to take a rain check for your repayment." She joked and Tseng closed his eyes and smirked.

"I guess so," he said and stood up straight with a concerned look to the younger Turk, " now get some rest." He said and quickly left Eva's apartment. Eva sighed as she flopped back on her bed. ' _Leave it to President ShinRa to interrupt something important'_ she thought to herself, but Tseng was right; her body was exhausted and needed rest even though her mind was racing with vivid and happy images of what just happened. She shook her head with a smile before crawling under her covers and switching off the light.


End file.
